A water filled watering can with a handle and a spout is a device which is commonly used to water potted plants. However, there are inherent problems associated with its use. Some examples are described below:                Pouring water on to the plant itself from above can be damaging to the plant;        It is easy to pour too much water into the pot;        It is easy to pour too little water into the pot;        The plant may be watered too often;        The plant may not be watered often enough, such as when the plant owner forgets or goes away on holidays; and        Water poured onto the soil in the pot may not be absorbed effectively and may actually pass out through the bottom of the pot without being taken by all the soil leaving dry areas in the pot.        
Whilst not being an admission of common general knowledge, wick watering is another method disclosed in the prior art. Wick watering may involve extending a wick between a dish filled with water and soil in a pot plant. The prior art wick may be made of cotton or microfibre. The watering takes place automatically by capillary action (wicking action) in which water from the dish is gradually drawn along the wick and into the soil. Although the prior art wicking method overcomes some of the problems associated with the watering can, it too has problems or disadvantages such as:                Prior art wicks tend not to be very self regulating in that, 1) even after a suitable level of soil moisture has been reached they continue to release moisture into the soil too quickly which leads to overwatering of the plant, or 2) they do not release enough moisture into the soil thereby leaving the plant under watered;                    Eg. Cotton wicks tend to hold on to the water without conveying enough to the soil so that the plant is under watered; another drawback with cotton is that it tends to rot;            Eg. Microfibre wicks convey water at a fast rate into the soil and tend to keep conveying water at a fast rate even after a suitable amount of moisture has been reached in the soil, thereby resulting in to overwatering of the plant;                        